The toaster oven has become a ubiquitous appliance in the home. The toaster oven is useful for making toast, broiling, and reheating or warming leftovers. Often, however, reheated meats and casserole dishes become dry when reheated. In this condition, the meat or casserole is generally unappetizing.
The present invention features a toaster oven that can be injected with steam during the toasting or broiling cycle. The injected steam is utilized to keep meats and casserole dishes from drying out during reheating.
The toaster oven of the present invention has a water tank that is disposed on the side of the toaster housing, and which is attached to the toaster base. Two knobs are disposed upon the water tank. The first knob can be screwed out of the tank, thus exposing an opening for filling the tank with water. The second knob is used for adjusting the flow of the water from the tank.
The water from the tank passes through an orifice in the bottom of the tank, and into a steam generating enclosure via a water conveying tube. A check valve disposed in the tube controls the flow of water into the steam generating enclosure during a steam generating cycle.
A switch disposed on the front panel of the toaster oven, when actuated, causes a heating element disposed in the steam generating enclosure to begin heating the water. The heated water, in turn, produces pressurized steam. The steam from the enclosure then travels through a tube to a jet which is connected to a steam tube disposed in the wall of the toasting chamber. The pressure of the steam causes the steam to be sprayed into the oven chamber, preventing reheated foods disposed therein from becoming dried out.